CORRECTION

An incorrect date for Lead Mine Elementary's fall festival was listed last week in the News & Notes column on the School Days page. The festival is Oct. 13.

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Calling all high school students who can go toe-to-toe with Webster's dictionary.

Forty-two top scorers in the National Vocabulary Competition will fly to New York in February to compete with students from across the country for the chance to win $40,000 toward college tuition.

The competition is sponsored by GSN, the interactive television game network, and the Princeton Review, a company that focuses on test preparation for college and graduate school admissions.

Students enter the first round by taking an online exam.

Students can register at www.winwithwords.com. The exam can be taken between Oct. 27 and Nov. 5.

The competition is modeled after other nationally recognized word battles.

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Northern Wake welcomes Meg Thomas, the new head of school at the Montessori School of Raleigh.

Thomas comes to Raleigh from Ohio with more than 20 years of experience in Montessori education as a teacher and administrator.

One of Thomas' goals is to create the Triangle Montessori Society, a group focusing on strengthening the communication between Montessori schools.

"I want to create more of a community outreach," she said. Thomas said she sees the Triangle as ripe for building community connections with the number of colleges in the area.

Thomas is also working to strengthen the Montessori philosophy of using nature as a textbook.

Today, students, parents and faculty are busy working around the school planting flowers as part of the school's bi-annual "Garden Day." Students also learn about pruning, weeding and researching information on the plants and how they grow.

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First graders at Lead Mine Elementary School at 8301 Old Lead Mine Road, are getting a real treat today when Smokey Bear drops in to chat about fire prevention. Smokey will make rounds to each classroom.

Visit www.smokeybear.com to learn more about Smokey and how you can prevent forest fires.

Also, plan to stop by Lead Mine today from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. for the school's fall carnival. The carnival promises to have lots of games and fun for the family.

Parents can also purchase a Chick-fil-A dinner for $4.

Call 870-4120 for more information.

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Another fall carnival is being held today at 5:30 p.m. at North Ridge Elementary School at 7120 Harps Mill Road.

Games, food and raffle prizes are in store for those who attend.

Call 870-4100 for more.